In Genesis 14 this man appeared to Abram, blessed him, received a tithe in return, and then disappeared again. Though he made just a brief appearance, we shall find that he is an important individual in the Bible narrative. He is only mentioned in the OT twice, but nine times in the NT.
Of the Lord Jesus and His obedience to the Father, the Hebrew author wrote:
…though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. (Hebrews 5:8)
Millions tuned in to watch the 2010 winter Olympic games hosted in Vancouver, Canada. Folks from almost every nation watched and for a few weeks, the world became a much closer community. A similar event is now underway, creating at least a tidbit of unity in the world, the 2010 FIFA World Cup of Soccer, being hosted in South Africa.
How did Peter find out that Jesus was the Messiah? Matthew 16:16-17 says that God revealed it to Him, but John 1:40-41 says that Andrew told him. Is there a contradiction?
In Acts 8:5 we read, “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them.” Later, the text records, “But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized” (Acts 8:12).
Sometimes, when we preach on a controversial topic, people object by asking, “Why don’t you just preach Christ?” It is most assuredly essential to preach Christ. Even though some dishonest preachers were trying to increase Paul’s persecution while he was in prison, he rejoiced “that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is preached” (Philippians 1:15-18).
What, then, does it mean to preach Christ?
Throughout the Bible, we encounter those who suffer from leprosy. This horrid disease brought with it a host of hardships. Of the dreadful affliction, Barnes writes:
“…though the appearance of the disease is at first in the skin, yet it is deeply seated in the bones, and marrow, and joints of the body…A leprous person may live twenty, or thirty, or even fifty years, if he received the disease at his birth, but they will be years of indescribable misery. The bones and marrow are pervaded with the disease. The malady advances, from one stage to another, with slow and certain ruin. Life still lingers amidst the desolation; the joints, and hands, and feet, lose their power; and the body collapses, or falls together, in a form hideous and awful.”
“You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me … Do not think that I shall accuse you to the Father, there is one who accuses you – Moses, in whom you trust. For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe Me words?” (John 5:39, 45-47)
